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Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. R.Hafizoglu / The meeting of the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with the Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas is to continue peace negotiations and preparation for the visit of the United States President G W Bush to the region, said the Speaker of the Fath organization Fahmi Zarir.

The Israeli Prime Minister and Palestinian President will meet in Jerusalem on 8 January.

According to Zarir, the regular meetings of Israeli and Palestinian officials are a very important factor in tackling disputable issues in the region. The planned meeting continues the conference of Annapolis. Peace negotiations will be held by the end of 2008.

Despite Israel continuing military operations in the Palestinian territory, Zarir hopes for a peaceful settlement to the conflict. "In spite of the fact that Katusha rockets were dropped in Israel from Lithuania, Israel does not stop military operations in Palestine, Zarir said.

Zarir said that Israel is an aggressor country for the HAMAS and Fath organizations.

"The fact that Fath launched negotiations with Israel means that we are ready to settle the problem not only by arms but peacefully," the Israeli expert said.